Tech Specs:
Now that the AllSpark has been located, and MEGATRON freed, it comes time for the DECEPTICONS to infiltrate the human installation guarding their goal. As always, BARRICADE and DECEPTICON FRENZY lead the charge. Disguised as local security, BARRICADE gazes hungrily at the fragility of the structure and the destructive power of the millions of gallons of water trapped behind it. Just one missile, he thinks, could unleash a storm of destruction unlike anything heâ€™s ever seen.

Packaging:
Barricade is packaged on the standard type of Transformers movie carded packaging with the edges of the plastic bubble wrapping around to the back of the card. He is packaged in vehicle mode. The curved tech detail section at the top of the bubble does not list any feature such as "Automorph Technology" since he doesn't utilize that feature. On the back he is pictured in robot and vehicle mode. His tech spec numbers match up exactly to the first version (which makes sense since all he's done is change his cosmetic appearance). The spec also seems to try to give a clue as to where Barricade was during the final battle. His vehicle mode is listed as a Saleen S281 (a variant of the Ford Mustang) and the Saleen logo is on the bottom. His cosells are Concept Camaro Bumblebee, Final Battle Jazz, Longarm, Payload and Dropkick. Frenzy is shown in robot mode as well and the text says he ejects from the chest (kind of cute, alluding to the G1 character's association with Soundwave).

Recon Barricade is a redeco of the first Barricade figure. There were no tooling changes so this review will focus on the changes made to his color scheme. For a more detailed review of the figure itself, check out the Barricade review.

Vehicle Mode:
Barricade's new color scheme is meant to simulate the type of security vehicle you would find at a government facility rather than a city based police car. A big part of doing this is eliminating the black and white color scheme and going with something else. Instead, his base colors are now blue, black and silver - a good combination that looks good but won't likely be mistaken for any type of police car. His base plastic colors are now silver and black. Translucent blue plastic is used for his siren while clear plastic is used for his windows. Like the previous version of this guy, black plastic is used for the front cage and his wheels.

Overall, this version of Barricade has a much simpler color scheme than the first. The first figure had all sorts of markings and numbers all over him. While he lacks as many decos, he does have a different color pattern. Instead of painting only his doors a certain color, he has a line of dark blue that starts at the back, runs along the side and then wraps around to the front of the car. He has black text on his license plate "SA GE 2764" and the rear lights are painted red. The thin lights in the front are painted orange. On the doors are different shield designs than his previous form. This shield has a Decepticon symbol in the center with a teardrop like design behind it and the word "Security" on top. On either side of the shields are silver ovals on top of the blue color on the doors. One detail that did carry over from the first toy is his famous "To punish and enslave..." text on the back, something I'm glad they kept as it is such a wonderful catch phrase for a Decepticon.

I'd be lying if I said I prefer this color scheme over the first. The first color scheme drips of irony from the big "Police" logos all over him to his Decepticon shield (which looks more "police based" on the original version). Still, as an alternate color scheme this works for the character adn the vehicle form. It definitely is a good choice of colors, and keeping his catchphrase helps a lot.

Robot Mode:
The first version of Barricade primarily used black plastic in this form, varying up the look of the robot with color apps. This time around he is made up of three different plastic colors along with paint apps. While the inner parts of his body such as the thighs and lower legs are still black, much of the outer parts such as the armor on his legs, waist and his chest are silver plastic. Blue plastic can be found on smaller sections such as his knees, feet and hands. His eyes are cast in translucent blue plastic instead of red. It's a good color combination that is representative of his vehicle form's colors as well.

Barricade still has paint details on his legs, but instead of metallic silver and purple, they are metallic blue - looking nice in contrast to the black. The same color is used on his head, but instead of coloring the mouth, the outer edge around his face is painted instead, a nice touch.

The spring loaded arm feature still works very well, and his joints are every bit as tight on this version as the previous one (a good thing considering this tooling is being used repeatedly for various releases).

Final Thoughts:
Barricade was one of the hardest to find Transformers figures over the summer. While extra runs of the figures have been produced since, this one gives fans and kids alike a chance to own a version of the character and get this cool vehicle form in different colors to boot. I prefer the original color scheme mostly because of what it represents but I confess as a redeco this is very nicely done since it differs so much from the source figure. Highly recommended mainly towards those who don't have a Barricade figure or completists.